Provident Financial feels benefit of cuts

Shares in doorstep lender Provident Financial jumped more than 8% this morning as it told investors the Government's spending cuts had boosted demand for its loans but should not damage borrowers' ability to repay them.

With more details of where benefit cuts will fall and when they will happen Provident said it expected them to have a "modest impact" on its customers.

Among reasons it gave were less than half its customers get non-universal benefits, less than 1% will be hit by the capping of benefits at £500 a week and less than 5% are on disability or health-related benefits to be cut in 2012.

The shares rose 42½p to 817½p.